| hyperspace
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I didn't change anything!
hysterical reasons n.
(also `hysterical raisins') A
variant on the stock phrase "for historical reasons", indicating
specifically that something must be done in some stupid way for
backwards compatibility, and moreover that the feature it must be
compatible with was the result of a bad design in the first place.
"All IBM PC video adapters have to support MDA text mode for
hysterical reasons." Compare bug-for-bug compatible.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.
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